Reflective telescopes (also referred to as reflecting telescopes) are one type of precision optical assembly that involves careful alignment, positioning, and/or attachment of various elements to create a quality image. Elements may include optical elements such as mirrors, lenses, beamsplitters, and beam couplers, and elements for supporting and/or mounting the optical elements.
Conventional assembly techniques typically assume that the elements are formed using high-precision manufacturing processes to allow the elements to be disposed at their desired positions and with desired orientations/alignments. In such techniques, as an example, one element may directly mount into (e.g., snap together with) another element without additional optical reference positioning. However, such approaches allow very little room for tolerance and are demanding on fabrication vendors (e.g., mirror fabrication vendors). For instance, the reference/attachment points generally require high accuracy. In addition, the individual elements (or parts thereof) may be fabricated using different machining stations and have their own associated tolerances, which may impede high accuracy.
The tight tolerances of elements manufactured using such approaches generally limit the ability to mass produce optical systems formed using these elements. As an example, in some cases, each element and associated attachment features may need to be accurate to within single digit microns. In this regard, the tight tolerances are generally associated with higher costs and/or longer manufacturing time, including, for example, more time spent iteratively estimating or measuring errors associated with various elements of the optical systems, redesigning the elements, and/or manufacturing the redesigned elements.